Can cap and seal



J. W. KERR.

CAN CAP AND SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1919.

Patented June 15, 1920 In van for 067272 Z0! Kerr by WMM/X Ma his Afiorneys JOHN W. KERR, DE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CAN CAP AND SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J une 15, 1920.

Application filed November 12, 1919. Serial No. 337,532.

. seal adapted'to be applied to containers for liquids. Evaporated milk and liquids are commonly conserved in tin cans. It is common practice to serve the liquid by puncturing the lid of the can at diametrically opposlte points, one puncture serving for egress of the li uid and the other for the ingress of air. bus, the liquid may be readily poured from the can. Another object in puncturing the lid is to provide openings which are automatically sealed by the film ofliquid spreading across the openings and then dry ing, thereby closing .the same. As it is seldom that the full contents of the cans are used at one time, this is very advantageous. If the openin s aretoo large, a'film will not form across t e former, and the can remains unsealed. When sealed by the film, it is necessary to puncture the dry film to open the can. Furthermore, some sharp instrument must be used to originally puncture the can. The lid becomes dirty and is unsanitary.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a cap to coverthe can having means by which two large punctures may be made simultaneously, said cap-being provided with valves and means to expeditiously open and seal the same at will. It is another object of this invention to provide a cap of the character described with puncture tubes which serve as conduits for the liquid.

These objects will be more fully understood as will also otherobjects and corresponding accomplishments of my invention from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof. For the purpose of this description, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the" upper part of a can and my improved cap and seal; Fig. 2 is a section through the cap and seal taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an elevation of the cap applied to a can.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, A indicates a canand B is the cap applied thereto. The cap is portable and may be removed from a can and applied to another can.

Referring particularly to the cap, it has a base 4 upon which is mounted a dome 5. The base 4 is of the size of the lids of cans to which it is intended to be applied, and is adapted to be disposed thereover as shown in Fig. 1'. The base and dome are conveniently made of any suitable metal. Extending through the dome and base at diametrically opposite points are puncture tubes 6 and 7.' The bottoms of the tubes extend beyond the base and are beveled to form points for puncturing the lid. The top of the tubes are elevated above the top of the dome serving as conduits for air and liquid with the upper ends as seats for valves. Secured to the dome intermediate the tubes are standards 8 and 9, upon which are pivoted arms 10 and a 11 respectively. The outer ends of the arms are so constructed as to provide valve disks 12 and 13 for seating upon-the ends of the puncture so tubes. Packing-14 and 15 of rubber or any suitable resilient material which will seal the ends of the tubes is secured to the valve disks. Formed on the inner end of arm 11 are inturned lateral flanges 16 and 17 form- 5 ing a head 18 in which rides a pin 19 secured to arm 10.

This provides for simultaneous operation of the valves. In orderito maintain the valve v in closed position, a compression spring 20 9'0 is disposed between the dome and the head 18. In order to maintain atight fit at the puncture tubes, washers 21 and 22 of resilient material are disposed over the tubes 6 and 7 and in contact with the base 4 so as to seat over the holes formed in the lid and seal the same.

The cap is used in the following manner: When it is desired to open a can, the cap 1 is placed over the lid with the penetrating ends of the puncture tubes in position to puncture the lid. The cap is then pressed downwardly so that the tubes puncture the lid and extend into the can. Pressure is continued until the washers 21 and 22 rest upon the top or lid of the can. The cap is now ready for use in pouring.

To pour liquid from the can, the latter is tilted with one of the puncture tubes on the lower side. and the other .onthe upper.

The head 18 is then depressed by the finger of the operator, thereby lifting valve disks 12 and 13 from the tubes and opening the latter. Liquid will then flow from the lower puncture tube and air will enter the upper tube passing to the can and filling the space vacated by the liquid which flows from the can.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a cap adapted to be disposed over the lid of a can, puncture tubes therein at diametrically opposite points, rock arms having valves at the ends thereof to close said tubes, means tending to hold said rock arms with the valves in closed position, said arms being provided with means for simultaneously rocking the latter to open said valves.

2. A device of the class described com- 20 prising a cap adapted to be disposed over the lid of a can, puncture tubes therein at diametrically opposite points, rock arms JOHN W. KERR. 

